Turfing machine



NOV. 24, 1936. w, HQFMANN ET AL 2,062,027

TURFING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24,' 1930 l8 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS Milly Hofmann and Nov. 24, 1936.

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TURFING MACHINE Filed Sept, 24, 1930 18 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS \oYilly Hofmann d fggrwerberh A ORNEYI NW, 24, 1936. W. HOFMANN ET AL TURFING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1930 18 Sheets-Sheet 4 A INVENTORS \lly Hofmann a d 5 1%?! ra nuierber'l' bRNEY M m l-Em;

Nov. 24, 1936. w. HOFMANN ET AL TURFING MACHINE l8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 24, 1930 1 8 s a E mm I'NVENTORS Ho mann and AT ORNEY gas Nov. 24, 1936. w HQFMANN AL 2,062,027

TURFING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1930 18 Sheets-Sheet 7 115 117 1] INVENTORS Willy R01 mann arid 2170 F k Gerber-f.

ATTORNEY Nov. 24, 193 w. HOFMANNVETAL TURFING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1930 18 SheetsSheet 8 nw S n H m k N TM! W HR W V A un it W0 Nov. 24, 1936. w HQFMANN E AL 2,062,027

TURFING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1930 18 Sheets-Sheet 9 3 B INVENTORS MWill Hofmann and gm ra bfierberf. 4 W

NOV. 24, 1936. w op- ET AL 2,062,027

TURFING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1950 18 Sheets-Sheet l0 INVENTORS Willy Hofmann and 1 v 10.1w Herbert. o TORNEY H Nov. 24, 1936- w. HOFMANN ET AL TURFING MACHINE l8 Sheets-Sheet 11 Filed Sept. 24, 1930 d. m R mu n 0 01 M M W o MVJF T 1936- w. HOFMANN ET AL 2 TURFING MACHINE 'Filed Sept. 24, 1930 18 Sheets-Sheet 12 15a 55% 1s411511A INVENTORS W1 [(0 mann and f Tainan): Gerberi'.

ATTORN EY Nov. 24, 193 w. HOFMANN Er VAL TURFING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24.1930 l8 Sheets-Sheet 1s INVENTORS ll IIIIIIIIIIII $141k l t zzgl ei -W ATTORNEY Nov. 24; 1936.

w. HOFMANN ET AL TURFING MACHINE Fild Sept. 24, 1930 18 Sheets-Sheet l4 INVENTORS W111 Hofmann and OgloEnJxGerbeI-i'. 6 ATTORNEY Nov. 24, 1936. w. HOFMANN ET AL TURFING MACHINE 3 Kofmann and 60? o F cankGerbert l8 Sheets-Sheet 15 INVENTORS W111 TTORNEY Filed Sept. 24, 1950 NOV. 24,1936. W HOFMANN r AL I 2,062,027

TURFING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1930 18 Sheets-Sheet l6 INVENTORS 1/11 11 Willy H mannand NOV. 24, 1936. w HOFMANNI ET AL 2,062,027

' TURFING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1950 18 Sheets-Sheet 1'7 INVENTORS Will H0 mann and I fofilrafm Gerbert. v TTORNEY Nov. 24, 1936.

W. HOFMANN .5! AL TURFING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1-330 18 Sheets-Sheet l8 @{ggomk Gerbert.

.INVENTORS Wnly Rofmann and ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 24, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TURFING MACHINE Application September 24, 1930, Serial No. 484,010

92 Claims.

This invention relates to a turfing machine simultaneously producing a plurality of fabric articles by the projection of loops of threads of yarn or other material through the meshes of a suitable base fabric, preferably but not necessarily with a cutting of the loops to form a pile surface projecting from the base fabric; but certain of the mechanisms can be employed to produce one turfed article at a time, although an important advantage of the machine shown is the ability to reduce production costs by the simultaneous production of a considerable number of turfed articles at the expense of only one operator and one attendant for all.

The machine disclosed is designed particularly for the production of hook rugs preferably with cutting of the loops of thread to form pile threads constituting a pile surface on the base fabric. Substantially the same general design of machine, however, may be employed to produce almost any other turfed articles, with loops or pile threads of greater or less length.

An important object of the invention is to improve the quality of machine-made turfed fabric articles inclusive of hook rugs, and to reduce production costs thereof.

The invention is embodied in the novel machine as a whole which is shown in the drawings, and includes various novel features and combinations of features constituting cooperative elements of the entire machine; and the invention particularly includes novel turfing elements and also novel combinations of turfing elements with mechanisms for operating them correlatively by power transmissions.

In attaining the desired objects by means of said constituents of the invention, especially our novel turfing elements and combinations of turfing elements, we have employed in such combinations certain features of prior machines of the multiple-needle embroidering type with various radical modifications adapted to the production of hook rugs and the like in lieu of embroidery, preferably with a cutting of the thread loops, and

' adapted to the production of any desired kind of turfed fabric by way of projection of loops of the thread through the meshes of a base fabric, preferably'with the cutting of such loops to form pile surfaces wherein the cut ends may be of any desired uniform length.

Although the machine as a whole appears somewhat complicated, yet it is entirely practical and its construction and operation are relatively simple as compared with prior machines for doing inferior work at higher cost, for one reason on account of the omission of all operations for securing the thread-loops to the base fabric or holding them thereto by any means other than friction which in our machine is relied upon exclusively, as in the ordinary hand-made hook rug, to hold the loops or pile-threads and base-fabric together, i. e., the two threads projected as a loop thru a mesh of the base-fabric are held thereafter adjacent one another in said mesh, Fig. 1A, by friction of the two threads with the sides of the mesh and with one another, and held by the two short lengths of thread or loop-feet lying flat against the other side of the base fabric and-joining the respective lengths of the threads extending thru said mesh with the two threads respectively in the two adjacent meshes on the two sides of said mesh. In other words, the operation of the machine so far as concerns the projection and cutting of the loops, is made to conform as nearly as possible to the manual production of hook rugs and the like, which heretofore have been produced almost exclusively by hand, and wherein the turfing likewise was held in the base fabric by friction alone. However, in order that such usual prior manual operations might be effectuated automatically by multiple-needle embroidery machinery, we have found it necessaryto devise various cooperating mechanisms which constitute important elements of the invention.

Of the drawings, Figs. 1-6 and lA-SA are views (about half scale) showing one of the plural sets of turfing mechanisms or elements directly involved in the projection and cutting of the loops, Figs. '1-6 being transverse sections of the same illustrating their relative positions at different portions of their cycle of operations, and Figs. 1A-6A being perspectives which pertain respectively to said sectional views; all these figures being of somewhat reduced scale but enlarged with respect tothe figures showing the machine as a whole including assemblies of said turfing elements with their coordinated operating mechanisms such as in Figs. 10-17. I

Fig. '7 is a chronological diagram showing the relation of. various moving parts of the machineat each of all stages of one complete cycle of their operations.

Fig. 8 is a perspective in larger scale even than Figs. lA-6A, for clearness, of a portion of the long side of the machine, looking at the front (needle side) from which the loops of threads are projected horizontally by needles N thru the meshes of the vertical base fabric F to form loops on the other side thereof, this figure illustrating the relative spacing of the plurality of devices (such as the needles N) which carry the thread-loops through the base-fabric, this figure also illustrating the method of feeding the threads from the reels or bobbins A when making a pile fabric as of cut loops CL shown on the other side of the base fabric F.

Fig. 9 is a perspective similar to Fig. 8 but illustrating the method of feeding the yarns from bobbins A when the projected lops L are not cut to form a pile surface; Figs. 8-9 being between one-third and one-fourth true scale.

Figs. 8-9 show a few but not all of the loopcarriers N which act to produce one turfed article; these figures showing only a small portion of the side of the long machine shown by Figs. Iii-10A, the intermediate portion of the machine including hundreds of carriers or needles N.of which many in a row (or two rows one above another) produce a single turfed article, and the total number of needles N producing a plurality of turfed articles simultaneously.

Fig. 10 is an elevation of the assembled machine showing its total height but only a portion of its long front side, i. e., the same (needle) side of the machine shown in Figs. 8-9. That is, Fig. 10 shows the left-hand portion of the same (needle) side of the machine and including the elements a few of which are shown in larger scale in Figs. 8-9. (The actual machine is about ten feet high.) The single operator of the machine is stationed in front at the left of Fig. 10 in positionto grasp the handle H which operates the pantograph to move simultaneously the two vertical horizontally long base-fabrics F, F supported in a vertical plane above one another, in accord with a given design on the pantograph mastermodel, such as a design of the product shown in Fig. 29A.

Fig. 10A is an elevation of the same (needle) I side of the machine shown in Fig. 10, but of a right hand portion of the needle side of which a left hand portion is shown in Fig. 10; the machine being as long as may be desired between the left and right-hand portions shown in Figs. Ill-10A, for multiplexing the simultaneous operations to any desired extent, for any desired number of duplicate products, the machine economically and actually being from 45 to 60 feet long and upwards for that purpose; about five-eighths of such length being occupied by the two upper and lower .lengths of base-fabrics F, and the other threeeighths being occupied at the ends by the operating and controlling mechanisms shown in Figs. 10-10A, the lengths of base-fabrics F extending intermediate such ends.

Fig. 11 is a sectional plan of the left-hand portion of the machine shown in Fig. 10, showing the left hand portion of the lower bank or horizontal row of successive groups or sets of turflng elements, which operate on the lower of the. two base-fabrics F, as seen by looking down at the horizontal plane II-II of the vertical transverse sectional elevation of Fig. 17.

Fig. 11A is a plan similar to Fig. 11 but of the parts to the right of Fig. 11, i. e. at the right hand of an observer facing the needle side of .base-fabric F as in Figs. 8-9; Fig. 11A being a sectional plan of the right hand end portion of the needle side of the machine which is shown in Fig. 10A.

Fig. 12 is an elevation of the rear of the portion of the machine shown in Fig. 10A, Fig. 12 therefore showing the loop or pile side of the machine, 1. e., the side of base-fabric F from which the loops L project and to which they are projected through the base-fabric from the needle side thereof shown in Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 10A.

Fig. 12A is an elevation of the rear of Fig. 10,

i. e. showing the rear or loop or pile side of the needle side of base-fabric F as in Figs. 8-9.

This is the operator's end where are located the pantograph control (handle H) for moving fabrics F edgewise across the paths of carriers or needles N, and the main driving means for the several turflng elements including N.

Fig. 14 is a sectional end elevation on line I4--I4 of Fig. 10, showing the shaft for the cams II4, I91, I98 (Fig. 12A, lower middle), which control the simultaneous movements of the multiple needles N for the projection of the threadloops thru the meshes of the base-fabric F, these cams also controlling the apparatus for holding the loops so projected in place during the rest of the turflng operations on such loops; and said cams also controlling the apparatus for cutting the loops to form pile threads constituting a pile surface projecting from base-fabric F.

Fig. 15 is an elevation of the end of the machine opposite to that shown in Fig. 13, i. e., the end seen by looking from the right of Fig. 10A, at the right of an observer facing the needle side of base-fabric F as in Figs. 8-9. This is the journal end of the machine, 1. e., the end opposite the operator's end where the pantograph and main driver are located, this journal end including the journals for the various operating rods extending longitudinally of the machine and operated at their other ends by the main driver M.

Fig. 16 is a perspective showing the ratchetfeed mechanism of thread-feed-rolls I12 duplicated at top and bottom (for the duplicate basefabrics F and shown in Figs. 8-9), the rolls being covered with frictional material.

Fig. 17 is a sectional elevation through the entire shorter dimension of the machine as a whole, taken at II-I'I of Fig. 10A; the righthand of Fig. 17 being the needle-side of the machine, and the left being the loop or pile side thereof.

Fig. 18 is a sectional perspective of the spindlepin arrangementfor the thread-bobbins of Figs. 8-9

Fig. 19 is a section at I 9 of each of Figs. 10A and 12, showing mechanism for oscillating the bar I52, which in Fig. 9 controls supply of threads from bobbins A to the loops projectedthru the base-fabric F by carriers or needles N, the action by bar I52 being at a critical stage of the turflng method of Fig. 9.

Fig. 20 is a section at 20 of each of Figs. 10A and 12, showing mechanism for oscillating the bar I53 which in Fig. 9 cooperates with bar I52.

Fig. 21 is a section at 2I of each of Figs. 10A

and 12, showing mechanism for operating the presser-flngers on the needle side of base-fabric to that of Figs. 8-9, i. e., at the needle side of base- 

